Filming has got under way in the Cotswolds on two further series of the classic detective show, as the much-loved period piece confirms it has been renewed for its fourteenth season.
Comic Bill Bailey and performer Clive Mantle are joining the cast as special guests in the forthcoming run of the cherished BBC crime drama, which follows a Catholic priest played by Harry Potter alumnus Mark Williams.
Series fourteen will once more see Father Brown and his companions based in the fictional settlement of Kembleford, where they will tackle cases involving magicians, communal lunch schemes, avant-garde painters, and perilous spiders.
Established performers Tom Chambers, Claudie Blakley, and John Burton are returning to their parts as Inspector Sullivan, Isabel Sullivan, and Sergeant Goodfellow respectively.
Hannah Bristow is becoming a new addition to the company as Rita Flint, the clergyman’s freshly appointed housekeeper. Further recurring characters will also return, with Nancy Carroll playing Lady Felicia, Roger May as Bishop Fox, and Kieran Hodgson embodying Father Lindsey.
The programme’s most formidable adversary, Father Lazarus, played by Lex Shrapnel, is set to make a comeback.
Williams said that they began filming series 14 of Father Brown during the first week of April, and though it is always difficult to leave his garden as it comes into bloom, the Cotswold landscape compensates beautifully. He noted that the trees are adorned with their spectacular blossoms including hawthorn, apple, pear, and blackthorn alongside the magnificent white and pink cherry blossoms. He added that magnolias abound, resembling grand wedding arrangements, and all the foliage is emerging. He mentioned that he is particularly fond of the horse chestnut leaves still hanging limply, not yet fully expanded. He observed that the lawns appear fit for a salad, and the farmland is turning green. He cautioned that one could easily become overly poetic, but they have 10 episodes to complete with no time for verse. He concluded by saying to put on the cassock and let the investigations commence.
BBC commissioning editor Helen Munson said that the clergyman is back, and they are thrilled to collaborate with BBC Studios Drama Productions once more to provide their dedicated viewers with two additional seasons of their crime-solving clergyman. She noted that with exceptional writing, a wonderful cast, and the stunning Cotswolds setting, it is no wonder that Father Brown remains a worldwide audience favourite.
BBC Studios Drama Productions executive producer Neil Irvine said that he is pleased that Mark Williams is returning as Father Brown for two more series and that his creative involvement has been acknowledged with an executive producer credit. He noted that with Hannah joining as the intriguing new housekeeper Rita, and Father Lazarus returning for a dramatic conclusion, this series is poised to be the most compelling yet.
Father Brown holds the position of Britain’s highest-rated daytime drama over the past ten years, reaching audiences throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, and other global territories.
The thirteenth series has recently concluded its broadcast run, with the fourteenth series due to arrive on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in early spring.
Tom Chambers, who plays Inspector Sullivan in the programme, recently starred as Inspector Morse in the House of Ghosts show at Oxford’s New Theatre.